LISTEN: Georgia election officials weren’t consulted on new threshold for third-party prez candidates

“Politically Georgia” talks to Deputy Secretary of State about the latest election legislation.
Poll workers stroll through the voting area after the polls open to nearly no one voting at the polling place at the Park Tavern located at 500 10th Street NE in Atlanta, on Tuesday, March 12, 2024. Georgia voters encountered light turnout and no lines for the presidential primary today as they made their voices heard about their choices to lead the country.  (John Spink/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TNS)

Credit: TNS

Credit: TNS

Poll workers stroll through the voting area after the polls open to nearly no one voting at the polling place at the Park Tavern located at 500 10th Street NE in Atlanta, on Tuesday, March 12, 2024. Georgia voters encountered light turnout and no lines for the presidential primary today as they made their voices heard about their choices to lead the country. (John Spink/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TNS)

Deputy Secretary of State Jordan Fuchs says her office wasn’t consulted on elements of a sweeping election bill approved by the Georgia Legislature last month.

Fuchs made the comments on Thursday’s “Politically Georgia” show, adding, “I think if you’re going to draft legislation that has an impact on election officials, you should sit down with them (and) get their input.”

Deputy Secretary of State Jordan Fuchs joined "Politically Georgia."

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Senate Bill 189 now awaits Gov. Brian Kemp’s signature. If signed into law, the measure would broaden activists ability to challenge voter eligibility, eliminate counting ballots with computer QR codes, and strengthen ballot security requirements.

It would also make it easier for independent presidential candidates, like Robert F. Kennedy and Cornel West, to get on the Georgia ballot, as long as they qualify in 20 other states.

If that happens, it could put the Secretary of State’s office in a major time crunch.

“It’s very clear that they didn’t look at a calendar and didn’t consider the timelines,” said Fuchs.

Gov. Kemp now has less than 40 days to sign this measure and other bills from the legislative session into law.

WIN List’s Melita Easters also joined the show Thursday to talk about the May 21st state primary.

Easters said she started the organization to elect pro-choice democratic women.

Win List's Melita Easters joined "Politically Georgia." 
CONTRIBUTED BY MELITA EASTERS

Credit: Courtesy photo

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Credit: Courtesy photo

She says 2024 marks the first major election cycle since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, putting the issues of abortion, contraception and IVF on the front and center for voters.

“This is the first election cycle where women who qualified for office qualified, knowing that their rights were no longer secured, that medical autonomy was no longer granted,” said Easters, “And so it has generated more women candidates on our side of the aisle than we’ve ever seen before.”

Currently, the state’s general assembly has 81 women legislators.

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